Artist of the week - Bi (Rain)

Dec 07, 2008

PROFILE

Real name : Jeong Ji-hoon
Date of birth : June 25th, 1982
Physique : 184cm, 74kg
Education : Department of Performing Arts, Fusion Design Graduate School of Kyunghee University
Hobbies : Watching movies, listening to music, collecting shoes and clothes

BIOGRAPHY

This week we have Rain as the artiste of the week. He has been popular for his singing and dancing talents since he was a teenager. As a teen, Rain fell in love with dancing. In order to make his dream of becoming a singer come true, Rain joined a dance music group named “Fan Club”. The dance group was made up of 6 male members who attempted to enter the local pop music market with the song “In Search of Dreams”, a re-make version of Chumbawamba’s hit song “Tubthumping”. Although the band gained some interest, they didn’t create the sensation they had hoped for. After releasing its 2nd album in 1999, Fan Club decided to disband.

After the band broke up, Rain was scouted by noted producer and entertainer Park Jin-young and had another chance to make it in the local entertainment industry. Park Jin-young believed that Rain’s vocal ability and dance moves were sophisticated and strong and decided to train him to become a top star in the local pop music world.

Rain’s first solo album got a great response. Since then, every album Rain has released has been successful. In addition to music, Rain has acted in several TV series, including the big hit "Full House" with Song Hye Gyo.

After wrapping up his Madison Square Garden concert back in February 2006, Rain had the choice of putting an English album together and jumping head-first into the U.S. market or heading back to Asia to cement his popularity with a world tour first. He went with the latter because he felt that the first order of business was giving thanks and attention to those in Asia, where his current fan-base is. Towards the end of 2007, Rain will officially release a much-anticipated English album.

In November of 2007, Rain left his longtime nest JYP Entertainment and started his own company, J. Tune Entertainment. And now, after establishing worldwide fame through his much publicized 2007 world tour and Hollywood exposure in films like Speed Racer and the upcoming action flick Ninja Assassin, the multi-entertainer returns to home base to release his long-awaited fifth album, poignantly titled Rainism. By adding "-ism" to his name, the title promotes a new ideology and concept that capture the essence of who he is and what he represents.

Taking full control of the album’s entire production, Rain reveals his true colors through his own composition and choice of lyrics, in particular Love Story and September 12th. Composed and arranged by Choi Hyung Joon of V.O.S, Love Story is a pop R&B number that talks about the ugly side of love, surprisingly coming from the singer’s own experience. In the song’s music video which features actress Ha Ji Won, Rain extends his talent net by orchestrating the full storyline. Moreover, the star upgrades his dance moves by collaborating with world-famous choreographer AJ, who previously worked with stars like Usher and Justin Timberlake.

DISCOGRAPHY
Bi1 PURCHASE THE ALBUM
Bad Guy (1st album, 2002) : Bad Guy, Baby Baby, What’s Love, Instead of Saying Good-bye
Bi2
Rain (2nd album, 2003) : You Know Already, Do You Like Me Being Famous?, Running Away from the Sun, Instead of Saying Good-bye
Bi3
It’s Raining (3rd album, 2004) : It’s Raining, I Do, Familiar Face, 11 Days, Quiz, But I Love You, Biggest Thing, Wanna Talk, No No No
Bi4
I’m Coming (4th album, 2006) : Rain’s World, I’m Coming, With U, Him & Me, Don’t Stop, Move On, Touch Ya, Friends, Oh Yeah
PURCHASE THE ALBUM
Rainism (5th album, 2008) : My Way (Intro), Rainism, Only You, Love Story [0912……After], Love Is, My Girl, You, Fresh Woman, Better Girl （feat. Tae Wan a.k.a C-Luv）, Turn Your Head, September 12th, My Way, Rainism Remix, Rainism (Chinese Version), Love Story [0912……After] (Chinese Version)